About Zero
by Matrix23
Summary: The Blacks Knights begin learning a few things about Zero, whether it be against his will or not. With a double secret identity and supernatural abilities is feels like the secrets are endless. (Being rewritten/reordered to better acomadate a longer story than an AU.)
1. Birthday

Author's Note: This chapter is set just after, "The Messenger From Kyoto," and before Shirley's father's body is identified.

* * *

Chapter 1: Birthday

With the beginning of December officially signaling the start of the holiday season, the Black Knights' base was fairly quiet. Referring to the lack of people and action of course. It was becoming quite the argument between Ohgi and Tamaki about whether or not blasting Christmas music over the comms was appropriate as they stand at one of the computers in the main command center. You can probably guess which opinion belonged to who.

Zero, their masked leader, was quiet on the matter as he spends time scrolling through recent reports and news articles. Usually Zero himself would only make an appearance at the base if something was going on. None of his subordinates decided to question this though.

"Zero!" Kallen shouts demandingly after the hiss of the automatic door signals her entrance. Said Messiah, as well as Tamaki and Ohgi, turn their attention to the teen questioningly. Kallen only seems to ignore her fellow Black Knights as she marches up to their leader with hands on her hips.

"What is it, Kallen?" Zero questions with a blank tone. Kallen sounded upset but he didn't have a clue as to what warranted such a reaction.

"Why... Why didn't you tell me today was your birthday?" Kallen says accusingly as she gestures to him with one hand.

"Whaaat?" Tamaki sounds before Zero could even respond, "It's my best bud's birthday and no one told me?"

"How do you know it's his birthday?" Ohgi questions crossing his arms as he leans against the workstation behind him. Zero himself was slowly starting to get frustrated that he wasn't able to actually say anything yet, even more so at who speaks next.

"I did," C.C. reveals leaning against the same workstation as Ohgi after seemingly appearing from nowhere.

"This is absurd," Zero finally intervenes, "By no means is it my birthday."

"Liar," C.C. hums, "I saw it in that ever so personal calendar you have at home."

"Witch," Zero scoffs under his breath as he glares at C.C. through his mask. He tenses when Tamaki suddenly slings an arm over his shoulders.

"How old does that make our friend here then?" Tamaki pries with a wide grin as he lightly prods said enigma with a finger, "Late 20s or early 30s? Older?" C.C. snorts earning another glare from Zero.

"Don't you dare," he threatens lowly at the immortal as he shrugs off Tamaki's arm.

"Do you really think I'd stoop to such a level for entertainment?" C.C. questions feigning an offended look with a hand on her chest. A smirk then graces her lips as she turns to leave the room.

"C.C.—" Zero says warningly. The whole reason he was at the base today was to avoid the celebrations the other student council members probably tried to plan. Not to mention knowing his birthday and age could be a dead giveaway!

"18," C.C. says pausing at the door to glance at Zero pointedly with a wink before she leaves the room, the door hissing behind her.

"Witch!" Zero exclaims after her sounding obviously annoyed. If he hadn't been wearing a mask he would've been pinching the bridge of his nose—instead placing a hand on his hip.

"... wait, what?" Tamaki says sounding completely dumbfounded at the new information. Seems like the other Black Knights present were just as confused.

"Please, just forget she said that," Zero sighs shaking his head.

"You've been successfully beating the Britannian Empire as a 17-year-old?" Ohgi questions in disbelief.

"I'm 17," Kallen reminds quietly in a tone to match Ohgi's. This is where Zero realizes his fatal mistake: forgetting to deny his age.

"Er—no, I'm not actu—" he starts quickly putting his hands up in a defending manner. Tamaki suddenly grabbing the sides of his masked face startles him as he's made to look at said knight.

"No way, man," Tamaki says squinting at the reflective surface of the messiah's mask, "Zero's just a kid!" He then releases Zero's face to firmly place his hands on the leader's shoulders instead with a wide grin. "Have you ever gone drinking? Been intimate with a lady?"

Zero stutters, Lelouch under the mask blushing. Give him battle strategies and he could easily give you a speech, ask about his "adult-life" and he's tongue-tied. Thankfully Ohgi comes to the masked teen's aid.

"Tamaki!" he scolds dragging Tamaki away from their obviously shocked leader.

"Oi, you were thinking it too, Ohgi!" Tamaki accuses crossing his arms.

The rest of the night was filled with probing questions into Zero's personal life that were left unanswered. Along with some insistence on celebrating in some way and lighthearted teasing. Well, until he finally decided it was easier to just leave the base and face the student council.

* * *

"There's our little party skipper!" Milly exclaims as she notices Kallen enter the student council room. The girl in question, who had been reading a book, looks up in confusion only to become more confused. The room was covered in confetti.

On top of the colorful strips of paper that were everywhere, some of the student council itself was missing. Lelouch sits at the table with an unreadable expression and his arms crossed. Suzaku and Rivalz were on either side of Lelouch playing some kind of game with the confetti. Milly, standing across the table from the boys, pouts at Kallen with hands on her hips.

"Party?" Kallen asks letting her confusion be known.

"Lelouch's birthday party!" Milly explains irritably. Kallen holds her book to her chest gripping it a bit tightly. "The one I took so long to plan and that he almost missed no less!" the council president continues to complain, "I wasn't expecting someone else to up and disappear before I put my plan into action."

"You missed it, Kallen," Rivalz says looking to said girl with a mischievous smile as he moves to nudge Lelouch in the side, "Our friend here went and became an adult!"

"An adult," Kallen repeats looking to Lelouch pointedly, "You're 18." Lelouch gives Kallen a sideways glance as he adjusts his posture.

"An adult yet still not able to do everything," he simply comments.

"You're telling me," Milly snorts. The banter continues but it falls on deaf ears when it comes to Kallen. She's lost in thought with a prominent scowl.

Surely, it had to be a coincidence. Lots of people can share the same birthday. Lelouch couldn't be the only one to have turned 18 yesterday. But this wasn't the first time Kallen has suspected Lelouch of being Zero—even before Zero and the Black Knights were a thing.

Kallen thinks back to the Shinjuku incident, right before she joined the student council. Lelouch had told her to forget about it before it even went public. How had he known?

She was never truly able to confront Lelouch about what he meant, he had confronted her. He even gave her an out. Kallen couldn't explain how Zero spoke to her over the phone when she was watching Lelouch but the messiah hasn't shied away from using stand-ins.

What did Kallen know about Lelouch? Shirley mentioned a gambling problem. Half, if not most, of the girls—maybe even some guys—in the school swoon over him. He often skips and sleeps in class. But he's quite the clever actor.

"Kallen?"

"Wha, huh?" Kallen sounds losing her train of thought as someone waves a hand in front of her face. It was Lelouch.

"You were spacing off," he states with a hint of worry, "Are you alright?" That, right there, acting. After all, it takes one to know one.

"I was?" Kallen says putting a hand on her cheek to feign embarrassment, "I was just… thinking was all. Happy late birthday."

"Oh, thanks," Lelouch nods sliding his hands in his pockets. Now both of them were quiet, eye to eye as if daring the other crack. It didn't last long, however.

"We're back," a voice behind Kallen sings breaking whatever tension was between her and Lelouch as he instantly looks to the source with a fond smile. It was Nunnally, accompanied by Shirley and Nina.

Something clicks in Kallen's mind at that moment. The same moment that Rivalz and Suzaku, who had apparently been fooling around, suddenly trip. Except that they take Lelouch down with them.

"What happened?" Nunnally questions in a concerned tone.

"Boys being boys," Shirley sighs placing a hand on the back of Nunnally's wheelchair. The boys in question give a collective groan as they begin untangling themselves.

"That's not always a bad thing," Kallen says under her breath as she glances to Nunnally. A kind girl who can't see or walk. Weak by Britannian standards.

The Black Knights fight for justice. For the weak.

* * *

 _"But neither will I stand for a one-sided slaughter of the weak by the strong."_ — _Zero_


	2. Sibling(s)

Author's Note: This chapter is not long after Shirley's father's funeral and just before she discovers Zero's identity during, "Shirley at Gunpoint." Kallen is currently conflicted about staying in the Black Knights. (Also, I don't know how to play chess, whoops.)

* * *

Chapter 2: Sibling(s)

After receiving orders from Zero via phone call, Ohgi wasted no time starting the preparations for the messiah's plan. However, wasting time was all he could do once the preparations were complete.

"Check," he sighs for the third game of chess in a row.

"Check?" his opponent, Tamaki, mumbles under his breath, "Again?" Despite being horrible at the game Tamaki was determined to, at least once, beat Ohgi. Kallen, who had been silently spectating them, didn't think he was any closer to that goal than when they started.

Tamaki leans towards the chess board with a hand on his chin. After a moment of consideration, he reaches for one of his black pieces, only for a gloved hand to move an entirely different piece, successfully maneuvering him out of the check position.

"Zero," Kallen acknowledges as the three look up to their newly arrived leader whose standing beside Tamaki. She looks as if she wants to say something more but Ohgi interrupts.

"I shouldn't be surprised," he comments glancing back to the board, "that you play. Chess is quite…"

"Tactical," Zero supplies to which Ohgi nods.

"You're obviously much better than Tamaki," he continues.

"Hey!"

"Obviously," Zero agrees in an almost smug tone before adding, "It helps that I played it often with my siblings." This earns looks of surprise from his gathered subordinates.

"Siblings?" Kallen is the first to question.

"My brothers and sisters," Zero explains glancing at her pointedly. Kallen once again looks like she wants to say something more but stops herself. "Is there a problem?" Zero questions now looking back to the oddly quiet Ohgi and Tamaki.

"Well, um," Ohgi sounds as if finally wrapping his head around the topic at hand, "It's just…"

"It's not like you to go and say something like that," Tamaki answers bluntly to which Ohgi sighs.

"You're the one who insisted on a secret identity," Ohgi adds.

"But now we know your birthday, age, and that you have brothers and sisters," Tamaki says counting the facts on his fingers.

"Are you complaining?" Zero questions sounding a tad bit annoyed.

"No!" Tamaki and Ohgi deny immediately.

"You didn't seem to approve that C.C. revealed your birthday," Kallen speaks up, "Now you're doing it on your own, what changed?"

"It..."

* * *

"I cannot believe you did that," Zero sounds his displeasure upon entering his private room that also houses C.C., who of which was lounging on its couch.

"You'll get over it," she replies lazily flipping open the lid of a pizza box. Zero scoffs removing his helmet to reveal Lelouch.

"Holding grudges is one of my strong suits," he argues unclasping his cape and tossing it onto the back of the couch. He then begins stripping off his gloves while moving to the room's full-length mirror.

"Fair enough," C.C. concedes. She looks down at the pizza before sighing and shutting the lid. It'd have to wait a little longer. "You need me," she reminds focusing her attention on Lelouch.

"And you need me," Lelouch shoots back giving C.C. an unimpressed glare in the mirror's reflection. C.C. lightly scowls as she pushes from the couch and moves to him.

"I do," she admits now sliding her arms over his shoulders from behind and onto his chest, "We need each other. That's why I need you to trust me."

"Trust you?" Lelouch scoffs, "After you took it upon yourself to expose my secrets?"

"In case you haven't realized," C.C. scolds resting her chin on his shoulder, "immortality means I've seen and been apart of many wars. Even you are not exempted from repeating fatal mistakes of those before you, geass or not. I already see a pattern forming."

"How so?" Lelouch demands.

"A leader's secrets being revealed by someone other than them… that tends to lead to betrayal," C.C. points out absentmindedly, "You have a lot of secrets." Lelouch says nothing looking back at himself in the mirror.

* * *

"... has come to my attention that blind loyalty can only get you so far," Zero sighs.

"So you're going to show us your-" Tamaki starts to assume.

"No," Zero shuts down quickly. Tamaki crosses his arms with a small huff.

"I don't understand," Ohgi says, "You don't want blind trust, but you don't trust us with your identity." Zero is quiet for a moment.

"It's not that I don't trust you," he claims. He knows he must pick his wording carefully. "Whoever I am under the mask isn't important," except they are, "compared to the mask itself." Zero receives mixed reactions.

"I don't get it," Tamaki admits.

"I think I do," Ohgi states sounding as unsure as he looks, "Zero is a symbol."

"Correct," Zero himself nods, "Even if I personally were to fall, another could rise as Zero."

"I don't know, man. I can't just give away my loyalty like that," Tamaki complains. Zero does remember Tamaki's many attempts at denouncing him. "Someone other than you being Zero? As if!" It's reassuring to see his stance has changed.

"I agree. It's hard to imagine someone else pulling off what you have," Ohgi chimes in.

"All that aside, you still haven't explained why you're being more open with us," Kallen points out.

"If someone other than myself were to tell you my identity, there's a strong chance your loyalty will falter," Zero explains with a sigh.

"You... want us to have faith that if someone else reveals who you are, we'll still side with you," Kallen clarifies almost sounding as if she were asking.

"That if you know some of the details beforehand I won't look so bad," Zero adds. The room goes quiet as if everyone were holding their breath.

"Right, right, trust and loyalty—are you the youngest or oldest?" Tamaki breaks the deafening silence with a subject change. It takes the others a moment acknowledge that Tamaki's referring to Zero's siblings. He's trying to get as much information on the masked enigma as possible.

"Ah," Zero sounds, "I suppose, I'm on the younger side, but not the youngest." He then focuses his attention on Ohgi. "Is everything ready?" he questions moving on to the task at hand.

"Er, yeah! Just as your ordered," Ohgi scrambles to pick up a folder that was underneath the chess board before offering it to Zero, "We were waiting on your arrival so can plan our next move." Zero briefly scans the folder's content before assuringly snapping it shut.

"Then there's one more objective that must be cleared. Get the troops ready and meet me at the site."


	3. ANOTHER Author's Note

Author's Note: As of right now I'm rewriting and/revising large parts of what's already been posted, I apologize for the long wait.

Right now I'm planning to order the series on disc so I have a reliable source to reference (the subtitles can be so different on platforms).

Part of me wants to trim this part of the story and keep the first chapter and leave it as a one-shot kind of preview? Probably won't though, like I said, only part of me.

I'm too much of a perfectionist to leave the date being a large plot hole and I'm not entirely sure if I'll add the original first chapter in the actual story...

Also jeez, there's so many of you guys now. I get an email at least once a day about a new follower.


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